Committee of the Peoples Charter (CPC) is a non-partisan political, economic, social and democratic accountability movement founded in 2011 in pursuit of the realization of the societal objectives enunciated by the Zimbabwe People’s Charter adopted at the Peoples Convention on 9 February 2008 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Friday, 8 February 2013

The
Committee of the Peoples Charter (CPC) is gravely disappointed with the
departure lounge intentions of the inclusive government’s ministers and the
current Parliament to award themselves ‘exit’ packages in the form of luxury
vehicles and houses, as reported in the February 8-14 edition of the Zimbabwe
Independent. Such an intention is grossly hypocritical as well as thoroughly
unjustified and undeserved.

In a
year where the country is facing a major drought as well as deplorable social
services where there is lack of clean drinking water, affordable health care
and a crisis in our education system, awarding these policy makers these
ridiculous exit packages would be the height of political insensitivity.

These
leaders would do well to be reminded that being in government is a service to
the people of Zimbabwe and not a mechanism through which they must seek to
enrich themselves. Unfortunately this latest intention is only but the
latest indication of the warped thinking that informs the inclusive government
where and when it comes to matters of allowances and perks for its officials.

Against
better advice, the inclusive government has over the last four years had a
ridiculously high foreign travel bill, a penchant for purchasing luxury
vehicles for ministers and their deputies while simultaneously claiming that
the country has a mere US$217,00 in its bank account. That MPs and ministers
now want ‘exit packages’ is akin to severance packages in a country where
unemployment is reportedly as high as 80%, can only be viewed as a
demonstration of utter contempt for the suffering of the ordinary people.

The
CPC strongly advises the inclusive government and parliament to show contrition
and sensitivity to the people that elected them into office by being
magnanimous and not seeking to loot the national purse for personal aggrandizement.

Zimbabwe
is neither their personal tuck-shop nor theirs to treat as an ‘endgame takes
all you can’ country. Where the inclusive government decides to proceed
with dishing out exit packages to itself, the CPC shall mobilize all
Zimbabweans against such extravagance.